As the Leaves Turn
by To live and die
Summary: As winter ends Sansa Stark comes to realise that being hidden away in the Vale is not enough to ensure her safety anymore.
1. Chapter 1

**Alayne**

Alayne did not know what it was about the group of travelling brothers that put her at such unease. At first she thought it was just her fathers voice in her head telling her to be wary around strangers. Especially strange men, men who could easily guess her secret. But the feeling persisted. No matter how many times she told herself she was being a silly foolish child, she could not shake the feeling that a cold wind was blowing over her naked skin. Making it shiver and prickle against her will.

She was snapped out of her uneasy thoughts by a hand on her leg and a low voice in her ear. "Alayne my sweet child, have you forgotten all of your courtesies?" Despite her best intentions Sansa could feel the muscles of her leg tense under his hand, she could only hope that littlefinger hadn't noticed.

" Forgive me father. It's just been such a long day and I am awfully tired. I hope my Lady Waynwood will forgive me and that the brothers who travelled such a long way to get here take no offence." Glancing around the table Alayne noted that most of the brothers were to engrossed in their food and drink to even notice the bastard girl at the top of the table. A kindly looking septon two seats to her right smiled at her.

"Please my dear, we take no offence at your distraction. It has been an exhausting day for us all." Alayne smiled at the septon and quickly tried to pick up on what her father and Lady Waynwood were talking about.

"...Lady Waynwood now is not the place to discuss such bleak situations." One look at her fathers face and Alayne could see the annoyance that pooled in his eyes as he talked to her.

" Now is the perfect place to discuss this. They say the outlaws are getting more ruthless and vicious with every passing day. The wolves are even bolder than they were two years ago and there are tales of fire and war across the sea and on Dragonstone..." Lord Baelish quickly held up a hand to silence her.

" Please my Lady anymore talk of this and you will scare my lovely daughter to death." His hand went to her leg again and he looked at her with eyes full of concern. " Alayne my dear, you look as if you are about to fall asleep into you soup. If you would like you are more than welcome to leave this dull and dreary talk for a warm bed." Alayne murmured her thanks and goodnights to those around the table. Getting up from her chair she quickly kissed Lord Baelish on the cheek and went to walk out of the hall. It was on her way out of the hall that she noticed the large hooded brother at the end of the table and the way his covered head was slightly turned in her direction, as if he was watching her descent to the back of the hall.

Distracted by the niggling, prickling sensation washing over her skin again, she didn't notice the slight raising of the floor beneath her feet. Stumbling slightly over her own limbs, Alayne felt herself steadied by a large hand that was attached to an equally large brother. Feeling herself blush as the hand lingered a moment longer than necessary she quickly said her thanks and darted out of the hall.

Hours later lying in her bed Alayne tried to make sense of what Lady Waynwood had said at dinner. In her opinion, Lord Baelish had helped to minimise the threat that the outlaws posed to the vale and while the problem would never be completely eradicated they were nowhere near as bad and brutal as they were at the start of winter. Although the winter had only lasted two years what it lacked in length it made up for in the ferocity of its storms. She had heard whisperings that the gods were punishing them for the sins of their rulers. Thinking over Lady Waynwoods words again Alayne could not help but think that she was being unfair in placing the problems of bolder wolf packs at Baelish's door.

Sometimes at night Sansa would pretend that the howling of the wind was really the howling of wolves, she wished it so much that she thought she could understand what the wolves were saying, how they were howling for their brothers and sisters against the inky backdrop of the nights sky.

_A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught you._A voice suddenly rasped in her head, he was right Sansa realised again. She wasn't a wolf anymore all the wolves were lost or dead and no matter how hard littlefinger tried she wasn't a mockingbird either, _all I am is a little bird flitting from branch to branch in hope of protection_. She suddenly felt like the night air was suffocating her, pressing her down into the feather bed until nothing remained of her. _If only Winterfell was still standing I could go home. _But it wasn't, Sansa told herself firmly there was no where for her to go. If she left the Vale and Littlefinger's protection the last remnants of Winter would most likely take her life and if she managed to survive that, she was sure the outlaws and the Queens men would pick up where Winter failed.

Losing herself to the hopelessness of her thoughts, Sansa Stark went to sleep that night dreaming of a rasping voice at her neck and warm large hands moving themselves over her body. In the morning she could still feel the ghost of his touch on her as she busied herself with covering the red which had begun to peek through her brown hair.

**The Kindly Septon**

The Septon couldn't remember the last time that he had had both a bed to sleep in and a warm meal filling his belly. The only thing that could make the night better would be the feeling a soft warm body next to his as he fell asleep. But those days were behind him now, the only thing he had to comfort him on these long,cold and lonely nights were his prayers to the seven. Sighing in contentment at the feeling of being warm and full, the septon looked around the hall for the first time, quickly noting that more chairs were empty than filled. He had heard tales along his travels of knights who had perished in the swirling white winds of winter and villagers forced to eat their own dead just to see another sunrise. Upon hearing the last tale Pate had prayed to the mother above for three days straight for the salvation of the dead and the living alike.

Pushing his plate away from him as he finished his meal the septon looked up when he heard a voice address their party. " You must excuse my daughter, the journey up here tired her greatly I fear."

" My Lord as I told your daughter we take no offence. The journey was a long and hard one we are just as exhausted, if not more so than your daughter." Looking into the Lord Protector of the Vale's face the septon couldn't shake the feeling that he was being evaluated in someway, like he was merely a horse to be ridden rather than a human being.

" Yes, it must have been a long journey for peaceful men such as yourselves to face the outlaws who roam the wilderness of the Vale." Pate tried to search for the meaning behind the Lord Protectors words, finding none he decided to speak the truth.

" It was My Lord. Though I must confess that I came upon the group of travelling brothers after they were indeed set upon by outlaws."

" Oh how awful." It was the Lady Waynwood who spoke this time rather than the Lord Protector, who was still watching him intently as he continued.

" It is My lady. The Brothers had come to give aid and comfort to the people who had suffered and were still suffering during the Winter. Instead one night when they set up camp a group of outlaws came upon them with the thought that they would have food and coin on them." Pausing to take a drink from the wine in front of him, pate quickly glanced around at the brothers who had settled themselves at the end of the table. He mostly saw faces red from the wine and glum from their travels, he let his gaze rest upon the hooded novice at the end of the table before he continued. " Sadly when I found them the Elder Brother of the order had suffered mortal wounds and was close to death. The only thing I could do was to ease his pain as he and others left this world."

" Forgive me Septon for asking but how did the others manage to survive?" Lord Baelish said as his eyes flicked towards the large shape at the end of the table.

" Some of the novice's were skilled in fighting before they said their vows." Pate said as understanding suddenly flashed across the his mind.

" I must admit I was worried when I first saw how many more mouths there were to feed but...and I hope holy men such as yourselves do not mind me asking this favor of you. But winter has left the Eyrie in dire need of repair, our sept needs tending to as do the broken windows, out of place stones around the castle and the roofs are also in a shocking state." Littlefinger paused to stroke his pointed beard as he looked around the table. Meeting his eyes Pate had a horrible sense that what ever was about to be asked of him and the brothers he would have to agree to it.

**Alayne**

" Ser Lothor if you would excuse me I would like to have a word with my daughter before the day's business commences." Ser Lothor quickly excused himself as he walked out of Lord Baelish's solar, closing the door behind him Alayne pulled out a chair and sat herself down, wondering what her father wished to talk to her about. " What would you say if I told you that I invited the septon and his brothers to stay with us for awhile?"

" I would ask if we had enough supplies for ten more people. Mya can only carry so many provisions and with winter not quite at an end yet..." Alayne started before her father interrupted her.

" Ever the practical thinking my daughter." Littlefinger said as his eyes drifted downwards towards the tops of her teats. Resisting the urge to cross her arms to cover herself Sansa continued.

" But you had already considered that." Nodding slightly knowing she meant it as a statement rather than a question, he took a sip of tea as his eyes returned to her face as he began to answer her.

" Yes quite so. I must admit that was my first thought when that sorry bunch first stumbled across us, bleating their pious nonsense. But every one has their role to play and the brothers will do quite well here for the time being. Can you guess why that is sweetling?" Alayne loved these times with her father, making the connections and facts come together in her mind. She couldn't help but feel proud when the right answer bubbled forth from her mouth and caused a small smile to form on her fathers lips, how the corners would slightly rise in what could only be described as an expression of bemusement. But the girl buried deep inside of her. The girl who had had a pack of her own and who had kept a bloodied cloak beneath her summer silks hated it. It made that girl feel like an animal being trained.

" The extra hands can help fix what was broken during the winter storms and they wouldn't require payment, at least in gold."

" That was one of my reasons. Come now Alayne can you guess the others?" Alayne's mouth turned downwards into a frown. Straining her mind to think if more reasons as to why her father would welcome ten more mouths made hungry by physical labor. Lowering her head in defeat, with eyes placed securely on the table in front of her Alayne shook her head.

" Oh Alayne you disappoint me. Well it seems that Lord Robert's illness is back with a vengeance and a septon could grant that his passage from this world as one of peace." Alayne could understand the reasons behind that and had to fight to stop a blush from staining her cheeks. She remembered watching Sweetrobin get weaker and weaker, at first she thought it was just winter taking its toll on his already fragile body. But late one night when she couldn't sleep she sought out her father, thinking that if she couldn't sleep than at least she could ease her boredom by talking to someone. Walking towards his door Alayne remembered the sense of foreboding that followed with every step, the ways the candles flickered against the darkness of the night, the hushed voices leaping out amongst the shadows. If sweetrobin died with a group of septons at his bedside, it would mean that if suspicions arose they would be that much harder to prove. " Coupled with that, some of those brothers could be used for protection now that our gallant Ser Shadrich perished in the winter snows." Littlefinger said as his eyes glittered in the early morning sun.

Alayne didn't want to think about Ser Shadrich now. Not now when the wolf girl inside of her kept screaming to be let out. " But father, Septon Pate and the brothers have taken a vow of peace, they won't break those vows to take up arms for a man they would have only heard rumours about."

" But a man who breaks his vows once is more likely to break them again." _And more likely to stab you in the back._ But she refrained from saying that, Lord Baelish liked her to puzzle things out, but only by repeating the opinions he gave her. Besides she knew that he neither craved nor cared for loyalty, he only cared about figuring out a persons next move before they knew it themselves. Loyalty was not needed once you understood what the core of a person was made of. " Now sweetling which god do you pray to?"

Alayne's answers were automatic by now. "The Maid and the Mother." Raising an eyebrow as if asking her why, she continued. " The Mother aboves song gives comfort to the tormented. It is my favourite from the Sept I grew up in."

" Very good. Did you have anymore questions from last night."

" Lady Waynwood said that the outlaws were getting worse and that Dragonstone..."

" Lady Waynwood couldn't find her way out of an open room. To answer your question the outlaws aren't getting worse. The Lady Waynwood is merely angry that young Harold is more interested in you than you are in him, her talk of outlaws is her way of reminding me that my hold on the Vale is conditional on Robert Arryn and peace and that greater men would be happy that their bastard daughter was in serious talks to be betrothed to the heir of the Eyrie." Stopping again to sip his tea Alayne waited for him to explain why Dragonstone was suddenly a topic of conversation. " Now come give your father a kiss before the day starts." Dutifully Alayne bent down and kissed her father with a closed mouth kiss before starting the days work.

**A/n Hi thankyou so much for reading and I want to apologise for any grammatical and spelling errors. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thank-you so much for the reviews and for those of you who subscribed to the story both these make me feel immense happiness. Also sorry for the late update I have had so many assignments to do lately. Should have mentioned this earlier but GRRM owns the entirety of this universe and its characters I am just borrowing them for a bit.**

**Alayne**

"I don't want to."

" Please Sweetrobin. If you don't eat you won't regain your strength."

" I'm strong enough already." Alayne hadn't seen this side of the young Lord of The Vale in nearly half a year. While he was spoilt, irritating and in need of good slap every now and then she could not bring herself to hate the poor boy. She had to remind herself on occasion that there was nothing malicious about him. _Not like Joffrey _a voice deep inside her whispered _He's nothing like Joffrey. _Looking at the pouting boy in front of her Alayne could see the signs which the journey and his sickness were taking on his already fragile body. His skin pallid and grey, his hands reaching out from his body like claws clutching at anything to anchor him to the ground. She knew that this time there would be no saving him from his fate.

" Well you must be very strong as I still feel weak." Alayne said as she took a spoonful of porridge to punctuate her point. To her relief Sweetrobin finally brought the spoon to his mouth and swallowed, looking as if she had forced him at knifepoint to eat it.

" Will you stay with me today?" He said between mouthfuls of porridge.

" I would like nothing more than that but I have to talk with Mya before she leaves and after that make sure that Septon Pate and the brothers have all that they need. Would you like to come with me to see Mya?" Alayne asked.

" No. Why can't you stay with me. No one ever stays with me, not anymore. You said you were my mother now, that means you have to stay with me when I say so." Alayne could hear the tremble in his voice and see the shaking of his limbs as his spoon clattered to the floor when he dropped it. " You're just...like the rest of them...y-y-y-yyou all leave in the end." He managed to spit out before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped from his chair like a sack of grain.

Maester Coleman quickly came to Robert's side, in a vain attempt to calm down the shaking that was racking his body. Despite herself Alayne felt a pinprick of annoyance at the mornings turn of events. " He will be fine Alayne, I will take him back to his room."

" Will you leech him?" Alayne asked as the Maester picked up the boys thin frame. Noticing how the Maester's eyebrows drew together at the mention of a leeching.

" Not Today. If you will excuse me Alayne I must bring the boy back to the peace of his room." Walking out of the room and down the corridor Alayne could hear her steps echoing along behind her, a cloak of sound flowing out over the empty hallway.

Sansa had thought that there would be a dignity in a natural death. She thought that it would be kinder to the boy to let his body decide when his time with the living was up, rather than letting Petyr Baelish decide for him with poisons and accidents.

Suddenly she was transported back to that sleepless night with the flickering candles and the hushed voices. It was as if a veil had been lifted from her eyes, deep inside she always knew not to completely trust Petyr Baelish. But whether she wished it or not she felt that she owed him the debt of her trust, a payment for saving her from King's Landing.

She could remember the feel of the cold metal of the door handle pressed against her palm and hearing the hushed angry voices inside, who had not seen or heard the door crack open. The mutterings about sweet sleep and how it would be a kindness to the boy to ease his suffering.

" Ah, Lady Alayne I was looking for you." Septon Pate said as she arrived at the end of the corridor

and walked into a room, which was currently being occupied by the sounds of harsh breathing and wood knocking against each other.

" Oh Septon I am no lady, just Alayne." She said as she noticed the large brother from dinner lifting a plank of wood taller than herself against the wall.

" It's not just a a noble birth that makes a lady. It is a kindness and elegance that shines from within that makes a lady, so you will have to excuse me if I call you a lady. But enough with titles My Lady, it seems the brothers and I have hit a slight problem." Alayne looked at the septons face as he talked, the lines around his eyes, his receding and greying hair. Despite her lessons with her father Alayne trusted him, he reminded her of a Maester she had once known. But that was fools talk, Alayne Stone had never had nor known a Maester, all she had had growing up was the company of Septa's.

" I"m sorry if there has been any trouble, if I can help in anyway it would please me greatly to be of assistance to you and the rest of the brothers." She said as the brothers around her grunted in exertion.

" I'm very grateful for that Lady Alayne. You see it has come to my attention that the maidens tower has been damaged terribly during the winter." The sounds of heavy breathing continued on in the background as the septon spoke, a hopeful smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

" The Maiden's Tower?" The Maiden's Tower was the least used tower in the whole of the eyrie. Even during the time when Jon Arryn was still alive the eyrie received few guests; and since the war of the five kings and the winter even fewer had arrived at its gates.

" The Maidens Tower yes. You see there in lies my problem, a man, even ones as pious as myself can not enter the Tower unless accompanied by a male member of the maidens family or if they are guards employed by the family for the protection of the maiden."

" Surely Septon Pate, seeing as no one is currently occupying the Tower no one would mind if you entered the tower to fix it." Alayne could feel the annoyance bubbling under her skin, as much as she wanted to help the Septon and the brothers. The Septon was making it more than difficult to find a solution. " Well I am quite sorry Septon, perhaps you and the brothers could continue to work on the main castle and towers and have to leave the maidens Tower until later?" She said as her and Septon Pate moved out of the way the brothers carried various things past them. The Septon touched a hand to her elbow as he answered her.

" See Lady Alayne there might be one way. The Lady of the house can escort the men to the maiden's tower; and as your Father is acting as a regent for the little Robert Arryn, it would seem that it would fall to you to act as the Lady of the Eyrie. At least in this regard my dear." He said as he patted her elbow lightly with the hand that held it.

Alayne felt uncomfortable about the whole ordeal, acting as the Lady of the Eyrie was what her Father had warned her against. It wasn't seemly for his bastard daughter to prance around the castle like a high born.

" Septon Pate, surely the Lady Waynwood is more suited to this task. You see I merely Lord Baelish's natural born daughter, hardly the Lady of the Eyrie." Raising a hand as if to silence her protest Septon Pate continued on, as if he had planned out all of her protests before he had asked her to act the Lady of the Eyrie and escort the brothers to the maiden's tower.

" I fear I have already asked the Lady Waynwood and she is currently indisposed with various matters. It would not take long my dear, just a quick assessment of the damage would do for today and you would only be escorting one of the brothers." Sensing that her only response to the Septon;s request was a yes, Alayne relented.

" Well if there is really no other way, I would be glad to help you and the brothers. But before I go to the maidens tower, I must first talk to Mya Stone. Hopefully this does not impede on your plans at all."

" Oh certainly dear, continue your normal day to day actions. If I may suggest, mayhap you could take one of the brothers with you so you need not come back this way." Septon Pate as he gestured to the large brother from dinner the night before.

She could feel a blush rising to her cheeks as she watched the brother walk towards her and the Septon, remembering the way his warm hand had steadied her as she stumbled over her own feet. She immediately noticed that his face was still hidden behind the hood of his robe. Addressing him as he reached the two of them, Alayne suddenly felt on edge as if a bird was trying to claw its way out of her stomach.

" I would be more than happy to take you o the Maiden's Tower but first I need to speak with Mya Stone before she journeys back down the Eyrie. I hope that is alright with your plans for today?" Alayne said as she tried to subtly look under his hood.

" Oh Alayne the Brother has taken a vow of silence. He can not talk or he would forsake those vows."

" Yes, sorry Brother. Now if you will excuse me Septon but I really must try and find Mya before she leaves." Alayne said as she and the Septon said good bye to each other, quietly exiting the room with brother moving behind her, like a silent shadow she thought as she nodded to a couple of servant girls who passed them in the corridor. Glancing back at him, in the vain hope that his face would be visible to her. She saw that he was among the largest men that she had ever seen, he looks more like a soldier than a brother she thought to her self, as she quickly glimpsed what looked to be a patch of black beard under his hood.

" You must forgive me inconveniencing you brother. You see my father wanted me to ask Mya if it would be possible to bring more supplies up here than she usually carries." As she finished she thought that she heard a snort coming from the brother behind her.

He reminds me of the hound, she thought with start. He would always met her courtesy with harsh words and snorts of disbelief. How often Sansa had thought back to that night where he took a kiss and a song, for years she had imagined that she had gone with him. That he had taken her back to her Mother and Robb, back to Winterfell. As she had gotten older she realised that he wouldn't have taken her to them he would have kept her with him, hidden them both away like a dog with a bone. The thought brought a warm feeling to her stomach that was immediately replaced with sadness as she remembered the news that the travelling singer had brought to them in the first year of the Winter. The news that Sandor Clegane had died, touched her more than she thought it would; how she had cried at night for him, for the two of them she told herself. For the hound and Sansa Stark she thought as she escorted the man who reminded her of him. Just like how the Hound used to escort her around the red keep.

Making her way to the entrance hall of the Eyrie she saw Mya Stone talking with Ser Lothor, talking very closely she noticed with a smile. " Mya," She called out as she stepped closer to them.

"Alayne, I was hoping to see you before I left." Startled for a moment Sansa quietly composed herself. I am Alayne Stone, she thought, natural born daughter of Petyr Baelish. Nodding to Ser Lothor as he walked passed her, Alayne turned her attention to Mya as the silent brother waited behind.

" So was I Mya, it will be sad to see you go so soon after we arrived. But I am afraid that I came to ask something of you and not just to bid you goodbye. My father would like you to carry as much as you possible can, if not more than is necessary." Alayne could see that Mya was narrowing her eyes at the thought of piling too many goods on top of her mules.

" Fine, but tell your father that if I think they are carrying to much I will dump his goods over the side of the Eyrie." Laughing at the idea of Mya throwing onions and meat over the Eyrie, Alayne had one more thing to ask her before she left.

" I will tell him in those exact words Mya, I have two more things to ask you before you head off. My father also wanted if you could bring back more medical supplies, he is worried that if anything were to happen to anyone that we would not be able to help them. And I wanted to ask you if you could bring back any news about Harold." At the last request Mya raised an eyebrow.

" Still Harold and not Harry? And why would you want to know anything about him?" Truthfully Sansa had no interest Harry the Heir, his drunken kisses and late night fumblings left her feeling nothing but anger that she should have to suffer his touches; and when he was drunk he reminded her of Robert Baratheon and she was met with a terrible image of herself as Queen Cersei telling some naïve northern girl that she would't be taken alive. But Alayne Stone had to seem interested and it was for that reason that she kept up this farce.

" Just if he thinks about me and if he thinks about other women." Snorting at her words Mya began to walk towards the great door at the start of the entrance hall. Turning back to her Mya smiled and said.

" He misses never bedding you Alayne. But I'll ask around for you and bring you back your supplies." Striding out of the hall, Alayne went back to the large brother who was waiting for her at the end of the hall.

Smiling up at him, she gestured that he should continue to follow her as she began to walk out of the entrance hall. " I hope I haven't delayed you from your work for too long." She said as the brother trailed behind her. Sighing as she knew he wouldn't respond, she continued on making her way to the maiden's tower. Finally entering the tower She waited in the corner of the room as the brother walked around the room, as if to inspect the damage that the winter and lack of use had caused it.. She watched him intently as he moved around the confident strides and strong hands that he used to pull down a plank of wood, shielding her eyes as light suddenly streamed into the room. As her eyes adjusted to the light she looked back at the brother who had not moved and was looking out the window that he just uncovered; and that was when she saw it.

A tiny glimpse of his jaw line, but rather than the seeing the black beard that she saw earlier she saw that his hood had slipped off to reveal a sliver of horrendous scars. From where she was in the room she could see that every now and then his mouth would twitch. Twitching just like it did in Kings Landing, there was no doubt in her mind that Sandor Clegane was standing in front of her. Suddenly she found it hard to breathe, her stomach was quivering mess as she made her way over to the man standing by the window. A voice inside of her whispered what he had told her long ago that he could keep her safe, he could keep her safe Sansa Stark told herself, the outlaws wouldn't hurt her if she was with him. His strength would keep her safe from the last remnants of winter.

She found that she was standing in front of him griping his shoulder tighter than she had every gripped anything in her life. She could feel the muscles under her hand tense as she raised a hand to the hood which covered his face. As her fingers grasped the scratchy fabric of his hood, for the first time in years Sansa Stark felt in control of her life.

**A/N Hey thanks for reading and I want to apologise again for the late update. But I digress thanks once again for the reviews and for reading and I hope the new chapter was worth the wait.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Once again thanks for reading, I really appreciate the reviews and subscriptions; and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! P.S sorry for taking so long too write it.**

**Ser Lothor Brune**

He liked watching her as she slept, in sleep her face lost the hard lines which framed her features. It was in sleep that her muscles relaxed and she didn't protest his touch. Lothor didn't know when he had become infatuated with the bastard girl, all he knew was that he had never known anything like it in his life. From the way she would catch his eye as he would pass by with Lord Baelish and Alayne, to the way her breasts bounced as she rode him and squeezed him tight as she took her pleasure in him, he knew that he was a man lost. He almost woke her then and there as he felt himself stir against her hip as she moved closer to him in her sleep, but something stopped him.

Something about last tonight was troubling him though, usually when she came to his room at night he would be a passive passenger in their nightly activities; as she tugged at his breeches, pushed him onto his back and straddled him as he helplessly grips her hips. But tonight she followed his lead, letting him push her onto her back, allowing her to claw at his back as he panted and moved above her. Spilling his seed in her as he collapsed on top of her, with her whispering into his ear as she stroked his hair away from his face. He had been waiting for her to open up to him, to become comfortable enough with him to relinquish some of her tightly held control, but something was off. The way she had moved away from him afterward, only returning to his touch as she rolled over in her sleep, had him worried about her more than annoyed at her.

Watching as the dawn light slowly caressed her face Lothor wished that he could have stayed in bed with all day, show her how good it would be once she gave away her control to him. But he couldn't do that, Lord Baelish once again required his services and even though the man once owned a slew of brothels he wasn't one to indulge in women or suffer those who did. Quietly moving away from the sleeping woman in his arms, Lothor stretched said arms over his head and made to get off the bed when he felt a hand lazily stroke its way up his back. Turning his head back to the naked form in his bed he saw Mya flash him a sleepy smile as her fingers continued to trace the muscles in his back which were slowly moving towards the front of his body. Gripping her fingers he slowly brought them to his mouth and pressed a kiss to them as he got off the of the corner of his eye he could see the slight frown which crossed her face as he gathered up both his and her clothing which was scattered around the room.

Silently he handed her her tunic from the day before and watched as she pulled it over her head, showing him the length of her body as her hands stretched over her body as she did so. " I heard that Lord Baelish was making a trip down the Eyrie." Mya said as she made her way out of his bed.

Frowning slightly he looked at the young woman who was currently standing in front of him. "Lord Baelish only arrived at the Eyrie a week ago."

" I just heard that there was going to be a last storm of the winter soon and that it would be good if Lord Baelish checked on the land before it hit." She said as her hand slowly stroked over his forearm. Despite his best intentions Lothor could feel his frown deepening.

" And why would he do that Mya?" He asked as she lifted her hand off his arm.

" The people are worried that the lord doesn't care. A visit would stop any ill will against Lord Baelish and the Little Lord Arryn." Despite what people said about him Lothor Brune was not a fool. You couldn't be a fool he thought and survive in this world as long as he had and you certainly knew when to spot when someone was lying to you.

" Since when have you been one for strategy." He said as he gathered her in his arms, feeling the way she slightly tensed against him as his hands went around her waist. " It would also mean that I would have to leave with the Lord Baelish so soon after you just returned."

" Even still perhaps you could mention it to him. Let him know how a trip to visit his his step-sons people would help him later on in the Spring." Suddenly he felt exhausted, he was never one for games and this back and forth between them left a bad taste in his mouth.

" Aye, perhaps I'll tell him, and when I get back perhaps you will tell me why you trust me so little." Her hands came up to rest on his chest as he said this.

" I trust you." Mya said as her startling blue eyes stared off into the distance passed his head.

" Not enough to tell me why you are so eager to get Lord Baelish to take a trip down the Eyrie." Releasing her as she remained silent, Lothor could merely look at her hoping against hope that she would begin to trust him.

" If you do this for me when you return I'll enter the sept with you." Mya said as she rubbed the back of her neck, still refusing to meet his eyes.

" You ask a lot for little explanation." He said, pointedly ignoring her offer to enter the sept with him, something he had brought up in the dead of winter to her utter horror.

" But you will do it?" She said with a chord of hope hidden within her voice.

" If that's the way of it. Aye I'll do it." He said as he tried to focus on anything other than the blue of her eyes, which were moving ever closer to his.

It was another hour or so after his day had begun that Lothor Brune was finally able to speak with Petyr Baelish. Walking into the room he was met with the sight of Baelish breaking his fast with Alayne and Robert Arryn, who was looking paler and thiner than Lothor had ever seen him look.

" Good Morning Ser Lothor, I hope you didn't find last night to cold." Alayne said in greeting as he entered the solar.

" Good Morn Alayne, the fires were stoked last night the cold does not bite as much if the fires are stoked." He said as Alayne smiled at him and Robert Arryn shivered beside her.

" Yes that is true Ser Lothor. Now if you excuse me and Sweetrobin I really must be going, Sweetrobin has his lessons for the day and the brothers still require help with a few things that need fixing." Kissing Baelish on the cheek as she and the little lord Arryn walked out of the solar, Lothor directed his attention to Baelish waiting for him to address him before he began to talk.

It was after taking a sip of water that Lord Baelish finally turned his attention towards the man standing in his solar. " What would you say if I said that I had a new man in my employment?" Littlefinger asked.

" Who."

" One of the travelling brothers." Baelish said as he moved away from the table. The news puzzled Lothor, Lord Baelish was always picking up and discarding useful men but he had never acquired a holy man before. " Oh come now Lothor, don't look so puzzled. Surely you've seen that great big brute that they have with them. He doesn't talk mind you and his face remains a mystery to me, but a man of that size and skill is always welcome in any employment. Even more so when he can't talk."

"Skill my lord?" Lothor asked before he could stop himself.

" Yes skill," Baelish said. " From what that idiot Pate says he was the one who fought off the outlaws when they were attacked. But enough about the pious brothers, you have heard news from the mule girl have you not?" The moniker that Baelish had appointed Mya, made him bristle behind his mail every single time that it was used.

"She says that there is unrest amongst the small folk about an upcoming storm."

" Is that all that she had to report, problems amongst the small folk." He could feel that he should keep his tongue silent on what he was going to say next. But his resolve crumbled when he pictured Mya bowing her head, allowing him to fasten a cloak around her neck.

" My lord if I may, the small folk need to be visited before they become...unruly. They think that the high lords care nothing for their struggles." He could see that Baelish was becoming impatient before he answered him.

" The small folk are always unruly and complaining of the high lords, it has hardly warranted a visit before. Although visiting the Lords Declarant unannounced, would be an interesting visit to make especially so soon after leaving." Littlefinger said as he motioned for Lothor to follow him out of the solar.

Ever the obedient man Lothor followed him out of the solar into the cold and bright hallway. Trailing along behind him Lothor, so caught up in images of two figures standing under a seven pointed star almost missed when Baelish stopped abruptly in front of him.

"My lord?" Lothor asked as the man in front of him turned around to face him.

" If I do take this trip to visit the the little lords amongst the ground, it would be a perfect time to test my new hires no immediate threat to my safety it would be a win win situation and as Alayne says he cuts a frightening figure." Upon hearing his words Lothor felt himself release a breath relief, fearing that Baelish somehow knew about Mya's coercion in his suggestion and was trying to trick it out of him.

" You would not need my services?" Lothor said as Baelish waved an impatient hand at him as he turned around and started walking down the hallway once more.

" What did I just say, no your services wont be needed. What I need you to do is to tell the mule girl that I am travelling down the Eyrie in three days." Baelish said as his heels quietly clicked against the floor.

" As you wish." Lothor said as he trailed along behind him, the corners of his mouth turning up; as for the first time in many years Lothor Brune was looking forward to his future.

**Sansa Stark**

It was risky, she thought as she sat by the fire embroidering a series of green vines and purple flowers into a plain brown dress. There was so many things that could go wrong, a niggling little voice inside of her head said. What if littlefinger found out why she insisted on coming with him? What if she took a tumble over the side of The Eyrie and smashed into the hard, cold ground and rocks that lay beneath them? She hadn't realised that her hands were shaking until she pricked herself with the end of the needle.

" Ow," Sansa muttered as she sucked the blood that had began to well at the end of her index finger. Putting down the dress Sansa settled herself looking into the fire, watching as the wood crumbled and burned as the flames gradually consumed everything in its path. Yes it was risky, she thought again, but there was no other option. She either take this chance now or be stuck here in the Eyrie as either her sickly cousin's wife, the trophy of Harry the Heir or the tool and plaything of the man who had trapped her here. In her mind there was no choice except the one she had made, the choice she had made for herself and the person she had chosen to help her, she thought with a grin. She had no idea how long she sat like that, grinning into the fire until a hand came to rest upon her shoulder.

Gasping at the sensation of hand suddenly grabbing her from nowhere, Sansa jumped slightly under the hand as she heard the familiar voice of littlefinger murmur into her ear. " Shhh Alayne you would think that you just saw a white walker." He said quietly chuckling, as his hand moved from her shoulder to lightly stroke her hair. " Its getting late, you need to be rested for tomorrow." Littlefinger said as his fingers further entwined themselves in her hair.

She hated when he touched her hair, Sansa thought. All she could think about was how her mother used to stroke and brush her hair until it shone like the fire before her, how different their touches were she said to herself. One had made her feel safe and warm while the other made her want to scratch his face until it bled. Forcing herself to lean into his touch she could feel the sigh that escaped his lips as she did so. " Father I fear I must get to bed, for we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Feeling his hand slowly leave her head Sansa stood up and turned around to face him.

Stepping around the chair he gathered her in his arms with a familiarity that bespoke of the last three years that they had spent together. His hands going to her waist Sansa rested hers against his chest feeling how the beat of his heart quickened under her palms, looking to his eyes she saw that it was no longer her father Lord Baelish looking at her but rather the eyes of litterfinger.

" Now tell me sweet Alayne would you rather go to your cold bed over there, or would you rather stay here by the fire all wrapped up and warm?" He said as he brought one hand to the back of her hand and crushed her against him, pressing his lips against hers as the hand around her waist snaked down to her bottom, grasping it through her heavy skirts. Counting to five in her head as she felt his tongue lightly run along the bottom of her lip, she slowly pushed him away from her. Forcing herself to breathe heavily she looked at his lips and then into his eyes, hoping that he would be fooled into thinking that she desired him.

" I am just so tired, that I don't think I would be very good company." Sansa said as the hands around her waist twitched.

" Oh Alayne your company is always good company." He said as he slowly took his hands off her and back to his side, " But you have a point we can't have you nodding off on the ride down the eyrie now can we?"

Suppressing a shudder at the thought of it Sansa stood awkwardly in front of him as she replied, " No father we can't have that."

" Well I don't want to keep you up any longer by all means get ready for bed sweetling." She watched as he sat down in the chair facing the fire. He did this occasionally giving her leave to get ready for bed but not leaving the room, it was like the night that he had made her undress in front of him saying that he was teaching her to undress in front of a man so that she wouldn't feel so uncomfortable when she had to do it in front of Harold Hardyng.

Sansa quickly laid her bed clothes out on the bed and striped to her small clothes, letting her skirts pool around her ankles as she stepped out of them and quickly exchanged them for her bed clothes. With out turning around she knew that he was watching her. Facing him when her body was covered Sansa went over to him quickly kissing him on the cheek and saying good night as she practically dove under the covers of her bed.

Over by the fire she could hear the creak of the chair as litterfinger got out of it and walked out of the room, saying good night as he closed the door behind him. Letting out a sigh of relief as she heard him walk away Sansa once again went over everything in her head. Muttering to herself as she recited the list which she had made a week ago. _Food, skins for carrying water, bedrolls, warm peasant clothes, sweetsleep, ropes ands horses_; she had gathered everything but the horses, but Sandor had said that he would take of that. How strange, she mused to herself, how strange calling him by his name, for so many years in her head he was the hound a man who was so angry and fierce. But after planning with him for the last week she couldn't bear to call him that anymore, for at least to her he wasn't the hound anymore. While his eyes still burned with an anger she could never understand they were no where near as intense as they were in Kings Landing. Coupled with that he had not said one hateful thing to her since she had all but ripped off his hood, he laughed and snorted at the things she said in mockery, but the touch on her arm and hand was always gentle as was the voice he used to speak with her.

Shivering with what she told herself was the cold Sansa fought off sleep knowing that she still had to meet with Sandor one last time before they all left tomorrow. Waiting until she knew that the hustle and bustle of the Eyrie had died down Sansa got out of bed and wrapped a cloak around herslef and walked over to her door and quietly opened it. Stepping out into the cold hallway she made her way over to the maidens tower where she and Sandor had been storing their wares. Finally reaching the door to the tower she grasped the handle in her hand and cringed slightly as the door creaked as she opened it. Walking into the inky gloom of the tower she looked around hoping to make out the shape of an extremely large man leaning against the wall.

" Little Bird." Whipping her head around to find the body attached to the voice Sansa finally spotted the large figure of Sandor Clegane walking towards her in the gloom.

" Sandor," She said as she brought a hand to her throat, " you scared me." She heard a grunt as he finally stood in front of her.

" Most things scare you." He rasped at her as she got the beating of her heart under control. Looking up at him she noticed the way his eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness looking at his face she motioned for him to follow her into the next room to check their supplies.

Walking into the room she could see that he had brought a candle with him and placed it down in front of a mound of hard bread, wineskins and bedrolls.

" Do you think the cooks will mind us taking their bread?" She asked as he came up behind her.

" Those wenches wouldn't notice if you burned down their whole kitchen. They won't give a fuck about some missing bread." He was still crude she thought with a slight smile as she looked up at him. A smile which he didn't met except by moving away from her and busying himself with wrapping up their stolen goods and placing them in a brown bag.

" Tomorrow once we descend there will be a dinner and then Lord Baelish will go off. When he does that I will have to talk with Myranda Royce and meet up with him once he has finished what ever scheme he is working on. Once he has dismissed you for the night you need to ready the horses and then come straight back to the room where he and I will be talking, by then hopefully I will be ready to go." She said as her hands bunched and un-bunched in her cloak. Swallowing down a sudden bout of nervousness she looked at Sandor and saw the little nod of his head as he got up from the floor and walked over to her again.

" Before we leave we steal the bastards precious coin." He said as he brought a hand to her shoulder, "and then we leave."

" And then we leave together." She said with a nod of her head.


End file.
